First off, I'd like to say that everyone needs to read this message before posting another message about our patch, balance, exploits, disconnects, etc. We've been communicating our exact plans quite clearly, so I want to take a moment to do it again so everyone knows what is going on.

BUGS...

Patch 1.05 is going to fix a significant amount of bugs, however, if you are having game.dat errors, you need to post extensive info, especially in our technical section. Your computer spec, what you are running the game at, when the problem occurs, does it happen often, etc. We need info guys, the more the merrier please!

THE BALANCE

Patch 1.05 is coming along strong. We just wrapped up balance testing on it with 6 community balance testers who have been with us before, that we know well and work well with. The balance in patch 1.05 is going to force you to really diversify your strategic tactics with the 3 factions. We have heard the complaints loud and clear, the tank spam, all that. The balance changes will be dynamic and significant. The balance for patch 1.05 we think is really going to fire up this community. All your playing time right now is just practice for the main event when the patch goes live. Listen to the podcast again for the latest update. Within the next 10 days we will post the full list of balance changes. We just want to be certain we are locked and loaded.

EXPLOITS/CHEATERS/DISCONNECTORS/LOSERS

I've seen way too many threads commenting about the same exact exploits and cheats, disconnects, etc. I have to ask if people are reading our updates, our messages, because it seems like the message has not gotten completely through to everyone.

Patch 1.05 will fix the most prominent cheats and exploits out there right now. The "screenshot lag cheat", the observer cheat, the engineer exploit, the scrin mothership worm-hole exploit, etc. I've been working privately with people in the community to nail down the most prominent cheats and exploits. We feel we have the most important ones fixed for 1.05.

With regards to cheaters, I can assure you our stance on cheaters will be ruthless and strict. Blizzard banned 60,000 accounts in WOW at one point to make a statement against cheaters, of course thats an entirely different genre, but the point I am making is WE WILL NOT ACCEPT CHEATERS ruining the competitive atmosphere of this game. We will take strict necessary measures to ensure cheaters are banned and tracked.

Disconnectors are Cheaters, there is no discerepancy or difference. If you disconnect, you are cheating and violating our Terms of Service. We will apply similar strict rules to those who consistently disconnect.

We plan to enact these policies with the release of patch 1.05, when everyone can start fresh on the ladder with a reset, and we can begin a ladder season with tournaments and prizes. It is our intent to keep this game at a strong and fair competitive level.

STATS FIXED

We believe we have fixed all the major issues revolving around stats. There is an extremely small percentage of people whose stats should be fully working now that were having issues since this past weekend, but that may have lost most of their history. We greatly apologize for this. If its any re-assurance, when patch 1.05 releases, that is when your stats will really start to count and apply towards the ladder and such.

*Still have Stat issues? Post please!*

SO...in summary:

(o) Patch 1.05 will fix many bugs but game.dat issues need more detail. We can only fix these with your help and that is dependent on you providing good detail on your situation in our tech forum.

(o) Patch 1.05 is scheduled to deploy later this month. We are on track. Should anything change, I will let you know. Our intent right now is to start locking it so it can go through the final testing approval phase.

(o) Patch 1.05 balance is going to diversify the factions greatly. We will post the full balance change list within the next 10 days.

(o) Patch 1.05 will address the major exploits and cheats

(o) When Patch 1.05 releases we will enact a strict cheating and disconnect policy that will have a very low tolerance and very serious consequences

(o) Stats should be fixed for everyone right now. If you still think you have issues, please post and let us know.

(o) The *free* Battlecast viewer we are aiming for release around the same time as Patch 1.05. With that we expect very good improvements to the Battlecast section of the website to make it more intuitive and faster.

Lastly, everyone, its time to have fun. There are tons of great maps being created, all of our community fan-sites are littered with great content and news, and we have C&C 3 for XBOX 360 coming in a week! There has never been a better time to be a C&C fan.

I hope this update serves you well and paints a better picture for where we are with everything. I felt like everyone was starting to get a bit lost but hopefully this will set you all straight.

The patch is coming, but some more patience this month is necessary. There are many things to enjoy with the game until the patch hits.